Home Fries

By Roze Traore

Published August 24, 2022

  • David Malosh for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Rebecca Jurkevich.
Media 1 of 1
Total Time
15 minutes
Rating
4(696)
Comments
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The great thing about this recipe is that it can be cooked in just one skillet — and it eliminates the time-consuming task of blanching your potatoes first. Water, oil and salt are combined in one pan. Once the potatoes enter the skillet, the lid is added and the potatoes steam, cooking evenly and absorbing the flavors of the salt and oil. Once the lid comes off, the water evaporates yet the oil remains, so the potatoes pan-fry until crispy. The results? Crunchy home fries with pillowy centers. If cooking for a crowd, double or triple the recipe, but do cook in batches, to avoid crowding the pan.

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Ingredients

Yield:2 servings (about 1¼ cups)

  • ⅓ cup vegetable oil

  • ½ teaspoon kosher salt

  • 1 medium Yukon Gold potato (about 7 ounces), cut into ½-inch cubes

Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (2 servings)

17 grams carbs; 406 calories; 27 grams monosaturated fat; 6 grams polyunsaturated fat; 2 grams saturated fat; 37 grams fat; 2 grams fiber; 319 milligrams sodium; 2 grams protein; 1 gram sugar

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Add the oil, salt and ⅓ cup water to a medium cast-iron skillet; whisk to combine.

  2. Step 2

    Add the potato cubes in an even layer. (It’s very important to not crowd the pan.) Turn heat to medium, cover the skillet and cook the potatoes, undisturbed, for about 6 minutes.

  3. Step 3

    Uncover, give them a toss or shake. Cook, uncovered and undisturbed, until the underside turns golden, then carefully flip. Repeat on all sides until the water evaporates and the potatoes are crispy all over and tender inside, about 9 minutes total.

  4. Step 4

    Transfer the home fries to a paper towel-lined plate to drain excess oil. Serve hot.

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Ratings

4 out of 5
696 user ratings
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Comments

SE

Way too much spattering oil! Instead nuke a large potato in a bit of water in covered casserole dish -- about 3 1/2 - 4 min. til not quite done. melt 1 tbsp butter with 1 tbsp oil in iron skillet. saute onion (if you like it with your potatoes) to taste in oil/butter mix and then add potato and brown all. Add chunks of ham and heat with potato mix, and you've got a real he-man breakfast. plus, no spattering oil and water.

smf

1/3 cup oil for 1 medium potato that serves 2 people? That's over 600 calories just for the oil.

Jewels

Absolutely, just use way less oil (1- 2 Tablespoons). This is the way I cook my frozen potstickers, usually half-way up with water and covered for about 7-8 minutes and then uncovered to brown, usually flipping to brown multiple sides. For this potato recipe I would also decrease the oil and add more potatoes and include the smoked paprika that Allison says, very similar to another NYT recipe, Huevos Rotos, which is really tasty

Lionlady

If you have cubed your potatoes before reading this, ignore all the instructions. Just heat some oil in a nonstick pan, fry the cubes til browned, drain them, add salt. If only there were a way to pry off the thin coating of browned potato now adhered to my cast-iron pan… it’s probably delicious.

Nicolas

Had no idea what to expect from this technique but OMG these were fantastic! Added a bit of fresh rosemary, garlic powder and julienne scallions right at the end. 🫶

Jeff

I'm not sure what type of cast iron skillet the recipe-writer used, but my well-seasoned skillet did not yield the expected results...not even close. Everything stuck to the bottom. It turned into something closer to potato mush than home fries. Another person suggested nuking the raw diced potatoes for 3-4 minutes in a T of water, then frying them (ceramic non-stick pan) in one T of butter and one of oil. Add a little salt, pepper and smoked paprika as they're frying. Perfection.

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